Depp suing former law firm

LOS ANGELES-Johnny Depp is suing his former law firm, claiming they conspired with his financial managers to fleece him of $40 million. The 54-year-old actor has filed a lawsuit against Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman, LLP, alleging they worked with his former financial managers The Management Group (TMG), who took out loans against his movie residuals.

According to website TMZ, the lawsuit alleges that Johnny’s film cheques were then used to pay off the loans and an additional fee went towards TMG before the ‘Lone Ranger’ star was entitled to his money. It claims the law company knew about TMG’s alleged actions but didn’t inform him. What’s more, the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star claims Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman, LLP, has never made him sign a retainer agreement - despite him paying millions of dollars in fees over the years. This comes less than a month after Johnny was accused of ‘’throwing his family under the bus’’ in a legal dispute against TMG.

He accused the firm of mismanaging his affairs by means of ‘’gross misconduct’’, ‘’fraudulent’’ self- activity, and unauthorised personal loans and in return, the company claimed their former client owed them money for unpaid services and released detail about his lavish spending and warnings they had given him.

But last month, TMG amended their complaint, responding to the loan aspect of Johnny’s lawsuit and naming his sister Christi Dembrowski - the actor’s personal manager and head of his production company - nephew William Rassel, personal assistant Nathan Holmes, Unison Music and friends James Russo, Sal Jenco, and Bruce Witkin as cross-defendants to the cross-complaint.

They said in legal documents: ‘’In his attempt to avoid paying his debts to TMG, Depp is knowingly throwing his closest family, friends and employees under the bus by falsely alleging that they took millions of dollars in unauthorized payments from him.